


1392010

by wintae



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Minor Character Death, Parent-Child Relationship, Single Parents, chan is a Father, i dunno what im doing, woojin is a student
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 03:53:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14511975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintae/pseuds/wintae
Summary: 23-year-old Chan wants to go back in time to 20-year-old college student Chan and kick him in the balls.or, rising producer Bang Chan moves to Korea with his 4-year-old daughter Somi and meets a cute boy who works at a ramen shop.





	1392010

**Author's Note:**

> the title translates to chinese as 一生就愛你一人 'which means you are the person i'll love for a lifetime'
> 
> welcome to this thing... uhh idk i just wanted. single dad chan??? not sure where exactly this will go

23-year-old Chan wants to go back in time to 20-year-old college student Chan and kick him in the balls. No, not so he’d not knock up his girlfriend- that’s 19-year-old Chan, and he can’t bring himself to regret it while looking at his beautiful daughter. It’s so he’d stop pretending like he didn’t know Somi’s mother was high or drunk for the first few years of his daughter’s life. 

Chan had always wanted to move to Korea after graduating, or maybe even during college, so it’s only fitting that he’d move his 4-year-old daughter with him to Korea once the opportunity arises. He’d been offered a job at an entertainment company out of the blue; he remembers sending an application and portfolio of his work once and never receiving a call. The email came four months after that, and Chan was ecstatic to join his aunt and uncle in South Korea. His mom lamented losing both her son and her darling granddaughter, but promised to visit more often than she normally does (which is often, considering the amount of family they have in South Korea) and sending loads of Aussie snacks ever so often.

Chan has been doing his best to teach Somi how to speak Korean ever since her mom gave up custody. Somi’s first Korean word was ‘I love you,’ which Chan needed to hear, because he only had her now. He pushed away his friends for his girlfriend, which he regrets; his father was so disappointed in him that he didn’t show up to Somi’s birth. His ex-girlfriend gave up custody and was required to go to rehab by court. Somi’s health was never ideal, considering the amount of alcohol in her mother’s body up until she found out she was pregnant. Chan and his mother scrambled to keep up with her medical bills until one of Chan’s song blew up, giving him enough money to get Somi the best treatment and even the best education. 

So, when both a solid job offer in Korea and the news of Somi’s mother’s death came to Chan’s door, the obvious choice was to get the fuck out of the Down Under. 

He paid for half of the funeral expenses, let Somi stay at her grandparent’s house for 3 days so she could say goodbye and Chan could deal with Adult Stuff without a barrage of 4-year-old questions, and hopped on the plane without too many looks back. 

Chan’s uncle drove them to their new apartment, teasing that he must be getting out if he’s already a great-uncle. Somi slept in the carseat Chan had shipped ahead after being handed a new stuffed animal. She’s a good napper; she’s low energy and gets hyper only on occasion. Chan is very grateful for that, since he only has one pair of eyes on her. That reminds him- he should look out for a babysitter. It’d be useful to have someone around in case he needs to spend a night in the studio.

The landlady welcomed them and gave Somi a cheek pinch, which made her giggle and loosen up considerably. For such a small girl, she has a lot of anxiety. It’s heightened since Somi began registering the fact that her mom was really gone, and Chan hopes he can be there when she realizes it fully. While Somi only had so much time with her mother, she definitely understands what a mother is and what she’s meant to do. 

He does his best lifting up a few bags and boxes while holding Somi, but Chan’s uncle is being significantly more effective. Their apartment is unfortunately on the fourth floor, but the elevators were fully functioning. 

“Want me to entertain her?” The landlady says with a kind smile, gesturing to Somi. Chan gives a grateful smile. 

“Want to go play with auntie?” Chan asks Somi, buries her head shyly in Chan’s shoulder while nodding nonetheless. He lets her down and sends her towards the landlady. 

“I would help with the boxes, but I threw out my back recently,” the landlady says apologetically, grabbing Somi’s hand. 

Chan shakes his head. “I wouldn’t expect you to.” 

“I can see if my son is willing to help, though. He’s in high school; he’s still got his youth,” she says, gesturing towards her own apartment. 

“He doesn’t have to, but any help is appreciated,” Chan replies, hoisting two boxes and attempting to hit the elevator button with his foot. The landlady ushers Somi into her appointment, asking if she wants anything to eat or drink. He laughs a bit when he hears Somi ask for a Tim Tam.

When he comes back down from that load of boxes, there’s a handsome young man leaning next to the elevator. He’s got mature features for someone who is presumably a high schooler, and he’s relatively tall. He reminds him of a member of the band Day 6. Wonpil, was it? 

“Hey, I’m Kim Seungmin,” Seungmin introduces himself after taking a second to register Chan. It’s probably the age. When you think of a father of a child, you don’t normally find out he barely looks older than you. Chan does naturally look a little younger than he actually is, though. He’s used to this reaction, but Seungmin’s reaction goes back to normal instead of seeming wary of him. “I’m the landlady’s son. Do you need help with the boxes?” 

“I’m Bang Chan,” Chan replies. “It’s nice to meet you. That would be great, thanks. The car is just down here.” Chan leads him down and hopes he seems vaguely close to a functioning adult.

“Where did you guys move from?” Seungmin asks, attempting to strike a conversation and he easily grabbed two boxes. Chan is jealous- the only thing he does regularly that’s even close to weight lifting is holding his 4-year-old. Seungmin obviously seems to work out often. 

“Australia,” Chan replies. “I’ve visited here often and always wanted to move here, but I… I couldn’t for a while. I got a job offer, though.” He doesn’t know how to say that Somi’s mother kept him in Australia for longer than he wanted. That brings up the question of where she is. Even though they didn’t see each other often for 3 years, they still had tons of history that Chan couldn’t sweep under the rug even if he tried. Seungmin nods and doesn’t pry. 

“Where are you going to be working?” Seungmin asks, genuinely curious. Chan remembers those days- right before applying to university, not sure what to do with himself. He’d looked to the people around him to figure it out. 

“Brand New Music, as a producer,” Chan says. Seungmin’s eyes widen in admiration. “I made a few songs in Australia with a band called The Terrestrial Club. I sent my portfolio in 4 months ago, but I guess they dug it back up and liked it enough to extend an offer.” 

“I’ve heard of that band!” Seungmin exclaims. Chan smiles, happy to hear of their international reach. The band members were amazing people- passionate about their music and generous to boot. Half the proceeds of their second album went to world hunger, and they consistently showered Somi in affection in between recording. They were the people he’d miss the most, but he promised to send them a track or two for their next album. “They’re very good. That’s awesome. I love music.” His eyes lit up in a similar way Chan had seen multiple times- in himself, in the members of the Terrestrial Club… Music means more to Seungmin than Seungmin himself probably knows. 

“Do you want to pursue it?” Chan asks. Seungmin tenses, and he knows he might’ve hit a nerve. Chan is preparing to apologize and tell him he doesn’t have to answer when Seungmin opens his mouth.

“I dunno,” Seungmin sighs as he presses the elevator button, balancing the heavy boxes on one hand with ease. “My mom doesn’t like it, but I’ve always wanted to audition to be an idol. She thinks it’s a passing phase. The thing is, I can’t think of anything I’d rather do besides sing for the rest of my life.” Seungmin pauses. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to dump all my issues on you.” Chan huffs out a laugh. He’s done that so many times to people in the past- get asked a simple question that just strikes the right cord to let you reveal all of your insecurities and issues.

“It’s ok. My parents were also skeptical about my career choice, especially when they heard I have a child to support. If you want to do it, might as well try. If not, you might regret it for the rest of your life.” Chan shrugs. “However, I do recognize that I got lucky. A family friend started a band in their garage, I gave them a few beats and melodies, and they took off. But, I’d be a big hypocrite if I told you not to follow your dream. Brand New Music is working on an idol group right now, so if you’re interested, feel free to come with me to auditions.” 

Seungmin nods as they got off the elevator in relatively comfortable silence and made their way to the apartment, where Chan’s uncle is beginning to assemble the bed frames. 

“I figured you’d need these pretty quickly,” he says. “So I got started. After this, we can pull out the cooking supplies and you should go grocery shopping.” Chan thanks him, makes a mental reminder to ask the landlady where the nearest mart is, and sets down his boxes. 

“Ready for round two?” After a lengthy sigh, Chan turns to Seungmin. Seungmin shrugs in typical teenager fashion and they set back down to finish bringing Chan’s new life upstairs. 

~~

The one issue Chan suspected with Somi moving to a new place was the cultural issues. She already spoke very good Korean, but sometimes she got confused and forgot her formalities. Chan stayed by her side often, but he worried a lot when she began going to daycare, which landed on the same day as Chan’s first day at work. 

Naturally, though, the worst issue was food. She’d turn her nose up at any food that Chan’s mom never made for her, and was disappointed when she thought the jjajangmyeon from another restaurant tasted different than the way Chan made it. The only places she truly enjoyed going to was a ramen place a few buildings over and an American-style burger place. Despite having a similar affinity for noodles and chicken nuggets as a kid, Chan was not about to let his daughter spend her childhood eating like she was in college. 

It was a work in progress. He contacted his aunt for help and she said she’d come over and make dinner for them one night to try to help her get used to Korean food. She also told him to be patient, but she’s going to preschool, and they’re going to feed her food she’s not used to. He doesn’t want her to only eat rice for lunch. 

Chan tells himself that’s the only reason why he’s worrying so much that it’s keeping him awake. 

In a spur of the moment decision, he heads out to clear his head, hoping the fresh air will calm him down. Next thing he knows, his stomach grumbles, and he realizing that since it is 1 am, he has not eaten in 6 hours- time spent tucking Somi in, unpacking boxes, and tossing and turning in his attempt to sleep. He finds himself in front of that ramen place Somi likes, and remembers the beautiful thing that is 24 hour restaurants. 

The doorbell dings as the lone worker blinks sleepily at him over some textbooks. He’s got stylish, bleached hair like an idol and wears a bit eyeliner. He looks around Chan’s age, and he looks spot on to Chan’s type. 

Ever since Somi’s mom left, he has gone on 3 dates and had 2 one-night stands (while Somi stayed with family members, of course) and all with men. His coworkers jokes that she made him gay, but he was always bisexual. He’s just… spent more time exploring his own sex recently. Who knows if it’s a visceral reaction to the intense turmoil the one girl he’s ever dated put him through or just how he’s feeling lately.

“Hello, I’ll be right with you,” the boy says, trying (and failing) to sound chipper as he rubbed his eyes and highlighted a few more words in his textbook. Chan decides on sitting at the counter, since he was there by himself, and he can see this attractive man in close quarters, maybe even talk with him. 

Chan knew he didn’t need to look at the menu (he barely did the first time he came here), but he had nothing else to do. Oh, that seafood ramen looks really-

“Can I get you anything to drink?” the boy says, suddenly right in front of him. His lips quirk into a smile naturally and his nametag reads Woojin. Chan thinks he stares a little bit too long, but he hopes he just seems more tired than dumbstruck. He is tired, too tired to process cute boys. 

“A beer would be great,” Chan replies. He could use a depressant for an extra sleep boost. 

“Can I see your ID?” Woojin says. Chan chuckles a little- he felt as if he’d aged 10 years with all the childcare he’s done for the past few years. 

“You’re flattering me,” he mutters as he digs out his ID and hands it to Woojin. 

“You look young,” Woojin shrugs, handing it back. “You’re only 6 months younger than me.” Chan now looks surprised. He’d figured he was at least legal age, but he looked younger than Chan. He grimaces and opens his wallet to slide in his ID. The glossy polaroid of Somi blowing bubbles shines back at him from the other side and Chan can’t help but smile. 

“Is that your sister?” Woojin asks. Chan lets out a breathy laugh and licks his lips in nervousness. 

“Actually, she’s my daughter.” Chan waits for the judging eye to come, but Woojin doesn’t even blink. “She’s 4 years old. We just moved her from Australia.” 

“Your Korean is very good,” Woojin says with a raised eyebrow, digging through the small drink fridge for the brand Chan had asked for. 

“Thank you. I grew up speaking it at home, so it’s not too hard. I did my best to teach Somi as well.”

“My sister had a kid early,” Woojin mentions, bringing him the beer and a glass. “So don’t worry about me judging you for that. It happens.” Chan smiles shyly and runs a hand through his hair. 

“Thanks. I- I do worry a lot. She’s going to grow up without a mother. I’ve had close friends who have had that and it’s hurt them a lot. I don’t want that to happen to her.” 

“Well, you can always try to make sure she has a good support system in place,” Woojin says. “That’s actually what I’m studying- I’m getting my teaching degree for elementary school. Based on my knowledge from that, and from growing up without a father, it’s doable for her to feel supported if she has a large enough and involved enough support system. My mom has 6 older brothers, and every single one of them came to every one of my birthday parties when i was a kid.” Chan thinks to the women he knows in Seoul. The number is minimal, but one name in particular does come to mind. 

He makes a mental note to call up Chaeyoung in his head, and turns back to Woojin, flashing a smile as their conversation continues into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> i thrive on validation... kudos and comments are much appreciated
> 
> also feel free to hmu on [twit](https://twitter.com/hyugseo)


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